


Weather You Like It Or Not

by GachMoBrea



Series: Fostering Strength [15]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: "Out of Time", (& then some stuff that's not...), (I may need more Tags), (Oliver is strangly Flirty at the very end...), (So am I), AU, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Angst, Arrow does not come until Chapter 2!!!, Blood, CANON DIVERGEANCE!!!, Can I borrow someone's intelligence?, Cliff-Hanger Chapters!, Confused?, Crossover!, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Related, Felicity and Lisa are Friends, Gen, Good, Gunshot Wounds, Len Whump, NOT Cannon Complaint for Arrow, OOC, Officer Jeremy, Out of Character, S01E15, S01E16 (Some Parts), Secrets, Spoiler Tags!, This Show is taking all I had left..., Time Travel is hard on the brain., Tooooooo many thing to Tag...., the feels!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-10 20:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8938609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: This goes with the Series, and will probably NOT make sense if you haven't followed us this far....{Are you ready for a head-ache? Because I've got one and am willing to share! Is that a thing? "Have headache, will share?"}Mark Mardon has arrived in Central City, looking for his brother's killer...But in the end, what can one man do against a speedster who can accidentally Time Travel?Captain Cold and misunderstood feelings aren't going to be Barry's downfall this time. So, what will his 'punishment' for altering the Time Line be? (Oh, how I HATE to write summaries some times...)*This was "supposed to be" TWO ~ Separate One-Shots, but I put them together instead.*





	1. Joe's Enemy

By the end of Len's short hospital stay, the nurses have banded together to keep as many of the rowdy family members out as possible. Lisa, Iris, and Barry resorted to flipping a coin to see who would be allowed to get the eldest out of the building.  
Lisa won.  
"As requested, a new set of clothes and your old ones," Lisa plops the two bags onto the hospital bed her brother was finally being allowed out of. "I still don't know why you wouldn't just let me wash the old ones so there'd be less stuff to worry about."  
"Thank you, Lisa," Len smiles, taking the fresh clothes in one hand and heading to the in-room bathroom. "Where are the others? Do Barry and Joe have a case?"  
"So quick to get back to work, Lenny?" his sister quips, sitting on the bed to wait for her brother. "Don't you think you should take it easy for a little while?"  
Len's laugh is all the answer his sister needs.  
"Yeah," Lisa sighs. "That's what I thought..."  
The younger sibling kicks her legs out like a little child and bites her lower lip in concentration.  
"Uh...Lenny?"  
Len pauses inside the bathroom, the last piece of clothing frozen mid-pull down his torso.  
"What did you do, Lisa?"  
"Nothing...terribly...illegal..."  
With an exasperated sigh, Len quickly finishes with his shirt and returns to the room. There's still a bandage on his head, but he looks otherwise like his normal self. Including the glare he was leveling towards his sister that was cowering under it guiltily.  
"What?" he repeats as he crosses his arms over his chest.  
"I kind of, sort of, maybe..." Lisa breathes out her fear as she continues to stare at her shoes. "I used 'that program' to check on that Eiling guy."  
"Lisa," Len scolds her with her own name.  
"I know! I know!" the younger sibling raises her hands. "But he hurt you Len! I can't believe Barry just let him go like that! I had to make sure he wasn't going to come back like a cheesy villain!"  
Len steps forwards in order to lift his sister's chin up to look at him.  
"But what about Felicity? You know what this could mean for her."  
"I know," Lisa's eyes water with guilt as she looks up at her brother. She whispers. "I'm sorry."  
Len takes another step to pull his sister in for a hug. She buries her head into his stomach from her sitting down position and uses his sweater shirt to wipe away her tears.

After a few moments, Len speaks up.  
"Did you at least come up with something useful?"  
Lisa sniffles as she shakes her head.  
"Eiling disappeared. No one knows where he is."  
Len frowns, one hand idly running through his sister's hair.  
"Don't worry, Lisa. I'm sure nothing will happen. Just make sure you message your little friend to warn her okay?"  
Lisa nods, still holding onto her brother.  
"And don't blame Barry for following the law," Len grins. "Besides, I shot the guy. It's not like he got away unscathed."  
Lisa huffs a laugh as she finally lets her brother go.  
"I really hope no one was in the hallway to hear that," she smiles, wiping at her face. "You could be arrested for talk like that, Len."  
"Wouldn't be the first time," Len shrugs the thought off as if it were nothing as he reaches for his coat. "Don't think Joe would be too happy about it though, so I'll refrain from mentioning it."  
"Len," Lisa's smile turns into a frown again. "You won't tell the others, will you?"  
"Lis-"  
"Please? It's bad enough seeing you angry at me, I don't need Joe or Barry or Iris to be mad too."  
With another exasperated sigh, Len nods his agreement.  
The siblings walk hand-in-hand out of the hospital where the rest of the family is waiting with large smiles.

"What took you two so long?" Barry asks as they come closer.  
"Time must pass slower for you, hero," Len smirks, letting his sister go to pull his foster brother in for a quick half hug.  
"He's just sour because he's still convinced Lisa cheated on the coin toss," Iris remarks, getting her hug in next. Before pulling back, she whispers, "I think he's right."  
"For the last time, I didn't cheat!" Lisa rolls her eyes as she looks away.  
"Can we get this little part of the road?" Joe asks with mock anger. "We're taking up the emergency parking lane."  
"Wouldn't want a police detective to be given a ticket over something so lame," Len agrees, herding his siblings into the back of the car.  
"Why do you get the front?" Lisa pouts as her brother opens the back door for them.  
"Injured," Len points to his head. "Now stop whining, cheater, and get in."  
Lisa's repeat of her innocence is drowned out by the vehicle as Iris shoves her in.

\---

Barry takes Linda out on a double date with Iris and Eddie to bowl at: "Our favorite spot in the world."  
"Okay, that's not creepy," Linda remarks with sarcasm as the pair look at each other in surprise after saying the same thing at the same time.  
"Sorry," Barry smiles awkwardly as he rubs a hand at the back of his neck.  
"Don't worry, Linda," Iris smiles more genuinely. "It's the only thing Barry and I will sync on tonight. I promise."  
"I never knew you were so into bowling," Eddie says, trying to bring the conversation somewhere else.  
"That's because you think I'm a delicate flower who can't handle herself," his girlfriend remarks with a shove to the shoulder.  
"Would you blame him with the way Len acts?" Linda remarks, sitting down to put on her bowling shoes. She looks up at the others. "Or am I the only one he gives the third degree to?"  
"It's not you," Eddie, Iris, and Barry say at the same time.  
"That doesn't count!" Iris hastily points out before anyone else can say anything. "Eddie was saying it too. It wasn't just me and Barry."  
"It's fine, Iris," Linda assures the other woman as she finishes with her laces. She looks over her shoulders to the crowd. "Not to sound paranoid, but Mr. Ice Eyes isn't coming too, right?"  
"Don't worry," her boyfriend assures her. "I've got Lisa keeping an eye on him and I didn't even tell him about this."  
Iris scrunches her face in mock confusion "Did that make this sound like we're doing something wrong to anyone else?"  
"I," Eddie announces the single-lettered word loudly as he steps to the bowling balls. "think we should stop talking about Len and get on with our date."  
"This man is wise!" Linda points to the blonde. "I'd much rather wipe the floor with Barry in this game he things he can own me at."  
"Oh," Barry smiles at his girlfriend. "It is ON!"

 

The couples are just finishing up at the bowling alley, Barry having Linda nearly convinced to do a piece on the place to stop it from closing, when Eddie gets an alert about an emergency at the morgue.  
Eddie quickly kisses Iris on the lips before rushing out of the building.  
"Sorry, Linda, I should go to," Barry says as he puts on his coat. "They're going to need someone from the crime lab." He kisses his girlfriend before adding an, "I'll see ya." and rushing out of the building.  
The two women watch their men leave, then turn to each other.  
"You wanna get a cup of coffee at Jitters?" Linda offers.  
"Yeah," Iris smiles. She lifts up her shoes. "I'll just drop these off."

 

Barry, as The Flash, rushes towards the scene, but he thinks he sees himself and has to stop to catch his breath. He doesn't see his double anymore, so he continues on to the Morgue where he finds the coroner dead on the floor.

\--- 

"Are you sure you're ready to be back?" Joe asks Len as they walk onto the crime scene together.  
"It's been a few days and the doctor cleared me," Len answers. He smiles at his foster father, "You need to stop worrying about me so much, Joe."  
"Sorry, can't. Comes with fatherhood," the detective glances over to his boy as he steps closer to the dead body. "I just don't want to see you in the hospital again."  
"I'll try to avoid it," Len remarks.  
Captain Singh walks into the room, coffee cup in hand.  
"Mayor's made this high priority," he tells the detective, barely pausing to get the words out.  
"Copy that," Joe says.  
Len, who was standing a few steps away from his foster father, takes a half step back to get out of the Captain's path when he sees a familiar face heading in. A face that was not paying attention to where he was going.  
Instead of a step back, Len steps forwards, grabbing the Captain in a dance pose and maneuvering him away from the incoming CSI before he can ram into him.  
"Snart?!" Singh shouts as he pulls away, his drink almost sloshing over the top of his cup. "What do you think you're doing? This is a crime scene!"  
"Sorry, Captain," Len drawls. "Won't happen again."  
"It better not," his boss growls, resuming his walk off out of the room.  
Barry steps closer to his foster brother to whisper, "Why did you randomly start dancing with Captain Singh?"  
Len smacks the brunette upside the back of his head and turns to Joe.  
"What's with all the water?" the detective asks the CSI, ignoring the possible conflict in order to get straight to the case. "Did the sprinkler system go off or something?"

As soon as Barry finishes explaining that hail killed the coroner, Eddie steps into the room with a recording of the dead man.  
"That's Mardon!" Joe says, pointing a pen to the device when an unfamiliar voice comes from it.  
"Clyde Mardon is dead," Eddie reminds the man.  
"That's Mark Mardon," Joe explains. "his brother."  
The recording continues and the coroner finally tells the man what he wants to hear.  
"Detective Joe West killed your brother."  
Mardon's voice holds no gratitude as he vows, "He'll pay for what he did."  
As the coroner shouts out in pain during his final hours, Barry and Len look to their foster father with concern.

"Looks like I'm the one who should be worrying about you," Len remarks seriously.

\---

At STAR Labs, Wells rolls into the room and greets Len with a friendly smile.  
"It's good to see you up and about, Major Snart," the scientist comments. "I want to apologize for my inability to prevent you from coming to harm in the first place."  
"I'll take that to heart when it comes from one," Len counters evenly.  
Caitlin clears her throat loudly and directs everyone's attention to the screen where she pulled up the CCPD photos of the Mardon brothers.

The scientists go over what they know about the weather manipulating Meta-human. Cisco names the man 'Weather Wizard', ignores Len's disapproving glares, then gets excited over a device that might be able to stop the man.  
Joe gets a text from Singh as the genius finishes.  
"I gotta go."  
"I'll meet you at the station," Barry assures his foster father as the man picks up his coat.  
"Try not to be too late," Len quips as he starts to follow Joe.  
"Detective West," Wells stops the two. "We'll find Mardon. Don't worry."  
"I'm not worried at all," Joe returns, walking out of the room with Len on his heels.

In the car outside, Len turns to his foster father.  
"You're not worried at all?" he says sarcastically. "If that's true, I'm a criminal mastermind with a gun that can turn everything to gold."  
"Where does that even come from?" Joe asks, incredulously.  
"I'm just saying," the younger man's voice lowers to something more serious. "I know you're trying to bottle up all your emotions so that it won't bother other people and I'm telling you, you don't have to. You've been there for me. Let me be here for you."  
Joe takes a deep breath and lets it out slow, eyes forward as he grip the steering wheel.  
"Yeah, okay," the detective relents. "I'll confess. Maybe I'm a little worried."  
"A little?"  
"Okay, a lot," Joe turns to his boy. "But I don't want you getting your siblings riled up and into the fold of your over-protectiveness streak."  
"The fold of my what?"  
"You know how you are. Stop playing, Len."  
Len chuckles as he looks away from his foster father.  
"I can't help it. Comes with being the eldest."  
"Let's just catch Mardon before he can hurt anyone else, alright?"  
"Yes, sir, general, sir."  
Joe groans as he starts the car. "Don't get your sisters started on that again. I've had my fill of 'the ranking system'."  
"Copy that."

\---

Eddie is already in Singh's office when Len and Joe arrive. Barry runs into the room with his two family members and closes the door behind him.  
They go over what they have on the case and Mardon, which really isn't much yet. Joe volunteers to canvas known associates for a lead, but Singh decides to give that task to Detective Thawne.  
"Nobody knows the Mardon brothers better than I do," Joe argues lightly.  
"You have a partner and a training detective," Singh points out. "Use them for the leg work. Snart needs the experience."  
"He can come with me," Joe counters. "I don't need to send him on his own or with my partner." He sobers a little, one hand resting on the Captain's desk. "Chyre and I tracked them for years. This is my case. I know how they think."  
"Which is why you should coordinate the investigation. From. Here."  
Joe stares at the man for a few moments, Len watching him warily in case he should react, but the detective turns around and leaves Singh's office without a word.

Outside the office, Barry closes the door again and Len moves to talk to his foster father, but the man puts up an arm and pulls them into a semi-huddle. He looks across the room to an approaching Iris and tells the men, "If you guys want to keep that smile on that pretty face, she doesn't hear about any of this."  
They all nod their consent as Iris comes close enough to give her father a hug.  
"Hey, guys," the reporter smiles. "What are you guys working on? Anything for an honest reporter?"  
"Nah...No," Eddie shakes his head.  
"Yeah, things are actually pretty quiet," Barry agrees.  
"Except for an old man throwing dirt on peoples cars in order to clean them for money," Len adds.  
Everyone in the small group looks to the training detective.  
"What?" Iris asks what the others are thinking.  
"Well, it's just a rumor," Len shrugs. "But I heard that some guy downtown was purposely throwing dirt at cars, then offering to clean if for a few dollars. It's a nice set-up and there's probably more than one person involved."  
"Huh," Iris tilts her head, intrigued. "Any kind of description other than, 'an old man'?"  
"Sorry, Iris," her foster brother smirks. "I can't do your job for you. If you want to catch the guy, you'll have to do that work."  
"This better not be a wild goose chase," the reporter warns the man with a point of her finger.  
"Why would I make something like that up?"  
"Why do you do half the things you do?"  
"I'll walk you back to your car," Eddie says brightly, offering his girlfriend an arm. Len's smile finishes as he turns a glare to the man. "Or...You can go by yourself. You're not a delicate flower."  
Iris rolls her eyes as she takes the blonde by the arm and drags him out of the room.

Joe turns to his two boys.  
"Lunch anyone?"  
"Yes," Barry nods. "I'm starving."  
"You're always starving," Len remarks.  
"Well not everyone's metabolism is as slow as yours, Len."  
"Was that an accidental speed pun?"  
"I'm going for lunch," Joe states, walking away. "With or without you two."  
Barry jogs after his foster father, but Len waves at them.  
"You guys go ahead," he tells them. "I'm not hungry."  
"You sure?" Barry asks, turning around to walk backwards so he can look to his foster brother.  
"Yes, I'm sure," Len grins. "And turn around before you-"  
The speedster runs into a passing officer. The man's hat falls from his hands and Barry quickly picks it up while saying several apologies as once. Len rolls his eyes as he walks away.

\- -

Len finds Officer Jeremy Barton in evidence lock up.  
"Hey, Jeremy," the training detective greets the man with a smile. "How's your sister doing?"  
"As good as can be expected," the officer shrugs. "Thanks for sending over that food. She really appreciated it."  
"It was the least I could do," Len tells him. "I do have a request to ask of you, though, and I need it to be just between the two of us."  
"As long as it isn't illegal," Jeremy jokes.  
"Of course not," the training detective laughs, pulling out a plastic bag with a small piece of cloth in it. "Where does the precinct send its evidence to be tested when the crime lab is overloaded?"  
"Well, we used to send some things out to Star City, but Barry has been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with the work load. Even though some times it feels like he comes in to play catch up," he adds with a grin.  
"Do you think you could help me fill out the paperwork to have this tested in Star City and sent back here? Without anyone else knowing?"  
"You need a case number for the reference and a detective who it's assigned to," the officer explains.  
"We can give me a premature promotion, leaving out the 'training' part in my title, and I've got a break-in case that it will go under."  
Len hands the bag over to the officer who frowns at it before looking back to his coworker.  
"What is this all about, Len? Why are you sneaking evidence around? You know there are cameras in here. Someone is going to figure out what you're doing."  
"I'm just trying to stall a little," Len tries to dissuade the man's fears. "If you get any heat for this, I'll take full responsibility. Or, you can just give it back and pretend this never happened. Your choice."  
Jeremy sighs as he puts the plastic bag down and pulls out a clip board.  
"I'll hold you to that offer of taking the blame but," the officer shrugs. "I don't see any harm in testing out a piece of cloth."  
"Thanks, Jeremy. I'll owe you one."  
"No," the other man shakes his head. "We're even."

\---

Len is just stepping into the main hall of the precinct when Barry and Joe return from lunch. He can tell by his younger brother's guarded look that something had happened while they were out and he immediately herds the two into a side room to find out what happened.  
"Mardon attacked," the speedster explains for Joe. "Don't worry, we're fine, but Joe's car is totaled. Or, more accurately, exploded."  
"And Mardon got away?" Len clarifies.  
"I couldn't chase after him as Barry Allen," his brother points out.  
"As if I'd let you," Joe grounds out. He heads for the door. "I've got to inform Singh. He's got to let me work this case so we can get Mardon off the streets."  
"Joe, I don't think-" Len huffs an irritated breath as his foster father ignores him as he heads for the Captain's office. The older sibling looks to the younger as they follow their foster father. "Nice save, by the way. I'm glad you were there."  
"I'm sort of glad you weren't," Barry says honestly. "I might not have been able to get you both."  
"Then I guess my slow metabolism is better than your fast one after all."

 

"You're confined to the precinct until Mardon's caught," Captain Singh states, walking away from his detective after their meeting.  
Even after Joe's strongest arguments, the Singh remains steadfast in his decision to keep that man under constant watch. He briefly tries to get the detective to contact The Flash, but Joe turns him down, still having no desire to get any more of his kids involved in his mess.  
Singh sighs as he stares into the other man's determination. He looks over to Len.  
"Snart, make sure he doesn't go anywhere."  
"Maybe Barry would be a better choice?" Len suggests.  
"And risk you going out half-cocked and not knowing what you're doing?" the Captain shakes his head. "No thanks. You can both stay here and get to know each other better."  
With his orders enforced with a glare, Singh goes to his office.

"I need to be out there," Joe seethes, going for his desk.  
"You need to be protected," Len counters. His phone rings and he turns his attention to the device as Barry steps to their foster father to put his quarter-sense in.  
The Caller ID says 'Lisa' so Len takes a few more steps away from his family to answer it.  
"What's wrong, Lisa?" he says as a greeting, knowing his sister preferred to text so she could use an excessive amount of emoticons.  
"Lenny," Lisa's voice comes through scared, further worrying her brother. "I think there's someone watching me. My shift is done, but I'm afraid to leave the bank. Can you come and get me?"  
"Now's not really the best time," Len sighs, looking over to Barry as he continues to talk to Joe. "Can you call Iris? Or Caitlin? They'd be happy to give you a ride, I'm sure."  
"Yeah, but they'd wonder why I didn't take the car since you rode in with Joe this morning," Lisa points out. "I'm scared, Lenny. I keep getting this creeping feeling that someone is going to jump out and attack me. I messed up three transactions this morning and got reprimanded! What if I get fired? I haven't even completed my collage courses online! Not to mention that I have to pay for them too."  
"Lisa. Take a breath," Len says calmly. He waits for his sister to follow the order before adding. "Everything will be fine. Did you bring your gold purse into work today like you said you were going to?"  
"Uh, why do you-?" Lisa starts then changes her mind. "Never mind. Yes."  
"In the side pocket, there's a mini stun gun. It's pink and has a plastic cover on it."  
"There's a what in my purse?!" the woman nearly screeches as her voice becomes softer, as if she stepped away from it. It comes back as loud as before but with unhidden shock, "When did you put this thing in here? And how did you know to put it in my gold purse?"  
"You were talking with Iris on the phone about your outfit during dinner last night and said you were going to take it. It's your favorite, so there was no surprise there. And don't think for a second that I didn't know you guys were distracting me from something. Honestly, Lisa, you're a terrible liar."  
"We can't all be ace-ex-criminals, Len."  
"I wasn't a criminal, I was a disgruntled teenager."  
"Whatever. How do I use this thing?"  
Len explains everything to his sister in detail, as he watches Barry leave the precinct. He waves to his brother, then keeps an eye on his foster father as he finishes.  
"Just get to Jitters and wait for me there," Len finishes. "Take the bus. Stay in crowded places. If you feeling of someone watching you gets worse, run into the closes store and look for someone staring at you."  
"Okay," Lisa takes a deep, steadying breath. "Okay. Yeah. I can do this."  
"I'm only one call away, but please," Len pauses to emphasize the next word. "PLEASE. Call Barry if you really think you're in danger. He can do more for you than I can."  
"Okay," his sister mumbles. "Thanks, Lenny."  
"Be safe, Lisa," Len tells her. "I love you."  
"Love you too."

\---

At the paper, Mason approaches Iris with more evidence that Harrison Wells might not be the man everyone thinks he is.  
"I need you to start asking your friends in STAR Labs about him," Mason remarks as he walks away.

Iris meets up with Barry at Jitters to talk to him about all the evidence Mason has on the scientist.  
"You think Wells is...responsible for this guy being missing?"  
"I don't really know him," Iris says. "But Stagg disappeared and the last person to have seen him was Wells." She hesitates before adding. "I'm starting to think that Len's dislike for the guy might not be so unfounded."  
"Len only hates Wells because he holds him responsible for what happened to me and the other people affected by the explosion. If no one from our family was hurt, he'd be able to see the good that Wells has been doing since making that mistake."  
"Barry," Iris places her hand over her foster brother's. "In your heart of hearts, do you honestly know there's nothing secretive about Harrison Wells?"  
"Harrison Wells is a good man," Barry says slowly. "There's no story here, Iris. You can tell your friend-mentor at the paper that too."  
"Okay," the reporter smiles. "I'll do my best to keep him off your trail, but I can't promise anything. You better make sure there are no more problems with the security system in that place."  
"Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells already went over it four times," the speedster assures her. "No one else is getting in without us knowing."  
The door to Jitters opens and the siblings turn to wave as Lisa steps through.  
"Hey, Lisa!" Barry motions to his foster sister. "Over here!"  
"Oh, hi!" Lisa quickly shoves something into her purse as he comes over to the table. "What are...What are you two doing here?"  
"Just talking," Iris shrugs. "How about you? Your shift over at the bank, or is this a lunch break?"  
"Ah, I'm done," Lisa nods, nervously looking around.  
"I something wrong?" Barry asks her, trying to follow her line of sight.  
"Wrong? No! Nothing's wrong," his foster sister forces a laugh. "I'm just a little...A little tired, is all. I'm going to the upstairs room to relax with a cup of tea. Is that okay with you two?"  
"Uh, sure?" Iris says, even though the other woman has already walked away. She looks to Barry. "Do you think she's worried the military are going to crash this place again? Should I talk to her?"  
Barry's phone goes off, alerting him to a text from Cisco to get to STAR Labs for his latest 'invention reveal'.  
"I'm sure it's nothing," the speedster answers, getting to his feet. "You know how bad a liar Lisa is. Maybe she's trying to plan something and doesn't want us to find out."  
"I suppose..." Iris mumbles, watching as her foster sister climbs the stairs with her cup. "Still, do you-?"  
She looks over to where Barry was and frowns when there's no sign of him.  
"So helpful," Iris sighs, dropping her head to look at the folder on the table. She'll have to talk to Lisa later. Figuring out what to do with Mason was going to take up too much of her focus.

\---

It only takes one thwarted escape attempt for Joe to realize he won't be leaving the precinct. The detective and his trainee distract themselves with 'busywork' until Cisco arrives with the 'Wizard Wand'.

"You name your toys as well?" Len drawls as the genius puts the device in the center of the precinct entrance.  
"Man has been naming things since the beginning of time," Cisco counters. He looks to Joe, "Keep this handy. It will protect you from Mardon's powers."  
"I got it, Cisco, thanks," the detective says, walking away from the device.  
"Joe, uh," Cisco nervously glances to Len before continuing. "I know you've got a lot going on right now, but, uh," he takes in a short breath. "You thought Dr. Wells had something to do with Barry's mother's murder...Why did you think that?"  
"Why do you ask?" Len counters. "Is the great can-do-no-wrong Wells finally slipping up at home?"  
"It doesn't matter because I was wrong," Joe steps in to answer the man's question.  
"Jury's still out on that," Len mumbles.  
"But you seemed really sure of it," Cisco presses louder than the other young man.  
"Look, Cisco," Joe says tiredly. "I can't talk about this right now, okay?"  
The detective pats the genius on the arm gently, then walks over to the desk to look at a file folder. Cisco sighs in defeat as he head to the elevator that had just arrived.  
Len watches him go with a frown, his eyes widening as Mark Mardon steps out from behind the small crowd of people.  
"I heard you were looking for me," Mardon remarks with a confident smirk. "Here I am."

"Hands up!" Len barks, pulling his weapon and aiming it at the man.  
Mardon lifts his hands, sending a force of wind at Len and ramming him into the desk beside Joe. Len falls to the ground, his gun clattering away from his hands as he lightly groans through the painful after shocks.  
"Easy," Joe puts a hand on his boy's shoulder to stop him from trying to get up. He looks to the Meta with fresh anger as he says his name, "Mardon."  
"Hey, Joe," Mardon returns, slowly walking to the other side of the table that has the Wizard Wand on it. "I can call you Joe, can I?"  
"You cannot," Len growls with a wince.  
"I figured we don't have to be too formal, seeing is how you put two bullets in my brother's chest," Mardon continues, unaffected by the other man in the slightest.  
"Your brother killed my partner," Joe says as he walks away from Len. "And a whole lot of innocent people. And threatened to kill even more."  
"Clyde was no saint, but he was family. If you can't protect your family, the least you can do is avenge 'em."  
"This is between us," the detective tells the Meta as he steps closer to the table. "Nobody else needs to get hurt."  
"But they are gonna get hurt." Mardon grins. Joe tries to reach for the wand, but the Mardon pushes him back like he did with Len, sending him through the closed doors of the other room.  
"Joe!" Eddie shouts as he starts to rush to the man.  
"No!" Joe puts up a hand to stop his partner.  
Everyone looks to the Meta as he steps towards them.  
"I'm not gonna be so easy to put down, Joe."  
Eddie reaches for his gun, shouting at the other to, "Take him down!"  
"No!" Joe tries to warn them as Mardon lifts his hands once more. "Run!"  
It's too late. The Meta uses his wind powers to explode allt eh glass in the room, making everyone crouch down to protect themselves from debri.  
Thunder rolls as Mardon lifts an arm towards one of the windows. Lightning filters through the glass towarsd the Meta's hand and he moves his other arm to direct it towards Joe.  
"Joe!" Singh shouts lunging for the detective.  
Len, having struggled to his feet during the Meta's last blast, lifts the small table and slams it into the back of Mardon's legs, forcing his aim skywards. The lightning destroys the ceiling of the other room before dispersing around. The damaged light fixtures fall to the ground, hitting a few of the people trying to shield themselves, including Singh who was still covering Joe from his tackle.  
The Flash arrives at that moment, lifting the Wand and taking away Mardon's powers. The Meta looks at his hands in shock when his powers don't work, then makes a run for it. When Len tries to chase after him, Mardon picks up the trainee's lost gun and blindly fires a few rounds before disappearing down the stair entrance. Thankfully, none of the bullets hit anyone.  
"David!" Joe's voice shouts out, surprising both his boys to look towards him.  
The Captain is unconscious beside the detective. Blood is spreading over his back from where half a broken light was embedded into it. Joe looks up to Barry with watery eyes and the speedster quickly grabs Singh to take him to the hospital.

Mardon escapes.

\---

Eddie agrees to take care of things at the precinct so Joe can head to the hospital. Len follows his foster father all the way to his car but stops before they fully reach it.  
"Come on, Len," Joe tries to rush the younger man. "I want to be there the second the doctor's are done with David."  
"You go," Len waves him off, pulling out his phone. "I've got to be somewhere else."  
"Len," the detective says seriously. "Do NOT go after Mardon on your own. Get in this car."  
"It's not that, Joe," his foster son assures him. "I promise. It's something else."  
"What?"  
"You don't have time to hear it," Len steps forwards to push his foster father into the car. Once the man is in the seat, Len leans in to add. "I'll tell you all about it later. For now, you go check on Singh. Let me know what the doctors say."  
Joe grabs hold of his boy's arm an stare directly into his eyes.  
"Swear on Lisa's life you aren't going after Mardon."  
Len looks back, unblinking, "I swear."  
Joe lets go of his boy with a sigh, turning the engine over and closing the door as Len steps back, then drives off.

Len gets a cab to take him to Lisa's bank. He takes her car to Jitters and goes inside to get her.

"Took you long enough!" Lisa scolds her brother, stomping over to him to wrap him up in a hug. "Where have you been? Are you really trying to be a detective? Or are you fooling around?"  
"I'm sorry, Lisa," Len says solemnly, wrapping his arms around his sister to comfort her, frowning as she trembles a little. "Things got a little out of hand. You're not the only one with problems."  
"Is everything okay?" Lisa frowns, letting go of her brother. "Barry and Iris didn't look like they were having problems. Is this about Mick again?"  
"Mick is long gone," Len comments, taking his sister's hand and leading her to her car. "I told you guys not to worry about him anymore. Now, tell me about this feeling you keep getting."

Len takes Lisa to his place, taking care to lose anyone who might be following him.

\---

After hearing that the damage to Captain Singh's shoulder might mean the man will lose his ability to use that arm, Joe vows to take Mardon down alone. Barry tries to get his foster father to see reason, but the detective instead convinces the young man to watch over the others, especially Iris since she has his last name. 

-

Later, as Joe runs into Eddie while searching for Mardon, Barry runs into Mason and the man makes a point to talk about a 'secure file' he has on Wells that will expose him as Stagg's murderer.  
Barry is torn between his curiosity for what the man might have and his desire to stand up for his friend and mentor who has helped him so much. Why was everyone suddenly turning against Wells?  
The speedster forces himself to leave in order to find Iris.

 

Meanwhile, Len calls in sick for his sister and orders her to remain in his apartment while he helps out with Mardon.  
"I'm not a baby," Lisa weakly protests as her brother puts on his coat.  
"Good," he says, frowning at his empty gun holster before straightening his scarf. He points a finger at his sister, "Then I trust you will remain here and call Barry in an emergency."  
"Aye, aye," Lisa mumbles, sinking into the couch.  
Len makes his sister get up in order to padlock the door, then finally leaves to find his foster father that was ignoring his calls.

-

Barry finds Iris and weakly lies about Joe's whereabouts, claiming a particularly hard case.  
"At least he has Len and Eddie," Iris remarks, still frowning at her phone.  
"Right," Barry smiles, rubbing at the back of his neck.  
Iris changes the subject to Linda and the two siblings have a few minutes of a regular day before Barry gets an alert from Eddie.

-

Mardon rips Joe out of the building he was searching with Eddie. The blonde detective screams for his partner, but there's nothing he can do. Even as he runs as fast as he can to the outside of the building, Mardon is long gone, with Joe in tow.  
He calls in the entire CCPD, including Barry.

-

At the precinct, everyone starts to gather for Eddie's pep talk. Iris and Barry walk out of the elevator together in time to see Len punch the blonde detective in the face, sending him to the ground.  
"Len!" Iris shouts at her foster brother, running past him to get to her boyfriend. "What is the matter with you?"  
"This moron let Joe go after Mardon without back-up!" Len snaps, glaring at the man as he dabs at his bleeding lip with the back of his hand. "Mardon's target was as plain as day, but Thawne still couldn't figure out the man's game plan!"  
"Len!" Barry steps in front of the man when it looks like he's going to charge the detective again. "I knew too!"  
Len's glare slides over to his foster brother in a single blink.  
"You what?" he says coolly, sending a shiver up his brother's spine.  
"I knew Joe's plan to go after Mardon," the brunette confesses. "He told me to keep it from you and to watch over Iris. I'm sorry."  
"Sorry," Len repeats with a shake of his head. "Sorry doesn't save him from the psycho Meta-human who wants nothing more than to see him dead, Barry!"  
"We're going to get him back," Eddie states firmly, back on his feet. He gently pushes Iris to the side as he steps up to the training detective. "With Joe missing, I'm your superior, Len. I don't take pride in that, but I do expect you to listen. We are going to get Joe back."  
"We better," Len leans in closer to the detective. "Or I'll make it my personal mission to destroy your life."  
"I accept that," Eddie nods.  
Len storms away to let off steam. Barry and Iris watch him with concerned frowns as Eddie puts a hand to his chest to take a breath.  
"Are you okay?" Iris asks her boyfriend, looking over his swelling lip with a wince of sympathy.  
"It's nothing," Eddie pulls his girlfriend's hands together and away from his face with a half smile. "I deserved it."  
"I wouldn't say that-"  
"No, Iris," the blonde assures the woman. "I did."  
"Let's just get Joe back before Len loses his cool," Barry remarks, pulling his foster sister away so that the detective can address his coworkers.

-

Len eventually makes it to his sibling's side as Eddie finishes his speech. He avoid contact with Iris as eh steps away to answer her phone.  
"You didn't need to hit him," Barry tells his foster brother quietly. "Eddie cares about Joe, too. He didn't let any of this happen on purpose."  
"Just be glad I don't hit you next," Len says in a clipped voice.  
Iris turns to the brothers with watery eyes.  
"That was Mardon," she tells them, voice wavering. "He has Joe by the Waterfront. He says not to tell the police, or else he'll kill him!"  
"Let's go," Len heads straight for the elevator, not caring if he was being followed or not.  
"But, Len!" Barry reaches for his brother as he pushes the button to call the machine. "You don't have your gun. Maybe you should stay here?"  
"And do what, Barry?" Len growls. "Twiddle my thumbs and worry about you two? Do you think I'm a moron too?"  
The elevator opens and Len walks inside. He crosses his arms at the others.  
"Are you coming, or what?"  
Barry and Iris quickly enter after him as the doors start to close.

-

Caitlin fails to keep Dr. Wells distracted.  
Cisco realizes the man's true identity and finds himself face-to-face with a killer he thought was his friend.  
Eobard Thawne kills Cisco by sinking his fist into the young man's chest.

-

At the Waterfront, Mardon sees the trio approaching and he smiles as he tosses binoculars down to his victim.  
"She is a pretty little thing," the Meta muses, aiming towards the group with his stolen gun without putting his finger near the trigger.  
Joe uses his free hand to rip the tape off his face.  
"She's innocence, Mardon!" he shouts. "Leave her alone! I'm the one you hate! Kill me!"  
"You'll have your time but not right now, Joe," Mardon pockets the gun to have the use of both his hands. "Right now, you're going to watch me destroy the people you love."  
The Meta-human creates a tsunami and prepares to send it towards shore.

 

Len gapes at the rising water as Barry talks to Caitlin over the phone about what he has to do to save the city.  
"...a vortex barrier by running back and forth..."  
"How fast will I have to run?"  
"I'm not sure you can run that fast."  
Barry hangs up. He looks to his foster siblings.  
"In case this doesn't work," he says. "I need you to run."  
"Not without Joe," Len argues.  
"He'll be safe wherever Mardon has him," the speedster points out. "Mardon wants him to see Iris get hurt, to see the city be destroyed, that's what this is all about. You need to get her as far away from here as you can."  
"And what are you going to do?"  
In a short burst if energy, Barry changes into his Flash suit.  
The hero smiles, "I'm going to run."

 

Barry runs faster than he ever had before....Back and forth and back and forth...Constantly moving in an attempt to save the ones he loves...Then something happens....He sees himself and stops in a familiar place.  
....A familiar...TIME?!

\---

Barry soon realizes he's traveled back in time. The coroner is dead, killed the same way as before, because just happened. The crime scene investigation goes the same way, sans Len's dance with Singh.  
At STAR Labs, his friends act the same way they did before. Then Wells asks for him to step off to the side for 'a word'.

"You ruptured the time continuum."  
Barry is so glad to have an amazing mind like Harrison Wells. The man has already figured out what he has and he didn't even know he was re-living time! It was a relief to know he didn't have to convince him, in case he should need help.  
"How long?"  
"I-Uh-A day and some change...It's like I'm living it all over again."  
Wells asks a few more things, but as Barry gains speed with his explanations, the scientist eventually shuts him down with the reasoning that, "Time...Is an extremely fragile construct. Any deviation, no matter how small, can result in a cataclysm."  
Wells then orders Barry to do EVERYTHING in the exact same way, while also keeping it from everyone.

Barry considers it...Until he makes it back to the CCPD and sees Singh talking with Joe, Eddie and Len. He knows what they're saying and he remembers how everything went last time...  
Joe walks out with Len at his side to approach the speedster.  
"Hey," the detective greets the CSI. "How did you know all that stuff at the crime scene?"  
"Guesses," Barry lies. He can tell by Len's smirk that it isn't a very good one.  
"Well, I don't care what Singh orders, I'm going to get Mardon."  
"There's no 'I' in team, Joe," Len points out.  
Barry's mind flashes back to the explosion and he has to shake his head of the image.  
"You okay there, Barry?" his foster brother asks in concern.  
"Yeah," the brunette nods his head. "I just...I've got some errands to run. That's all. I'll see you later."  
Barry runs off and Len turns to Joe.  
"Is 'errands' Sicko's new code word for Barry's 'other job'?"

-

Barry finds Mardon and puts him in the pipe line before he can hurt anyone.  
He claims a 'hunch' when asked about how he knew where to look.  
"That must be some sort of record," Caitlin compliments him.  
Cisco turns and starts to walk away, "There goes my excuse for missing my brother's party."  
"Hey," his fellow scientist brightens. "What if you brought Len with you? I mean, since his sister can't make it and all."  
"Excuse me?" the genius replies indignantly. "I'll have enough people there to insult me. I don't need Captain Cold-Hearted there too."

The two scientists finally leave earshot and Wells addresses the speedster.  
"Do you have any idea what you've just done."  
"Yeah....I just saved a lot of lives."  
"Whatever tragedy you avert...Time will find a way to replace it. Trust me, Barry," he looks up to the young man with a pained expression. "The next one...Could be much worse."

Unable to argue, Barry watches the scientist roll away from him.

\- -

Len is just as surprised as Joe to hear about The Flash's quick capture of their Meta-human. Joe decides to take Eddie out to lunch, but Len down the offer to join.  
"You're not turning down food because of me, are you?" the blonde asks as he grabs up his coat to leave.  
"No," the trainee smirks. "Though the thought of you with my sister does make me sick. Thanks for reminding me."  
With a roll of his eyes, Joe grabs his partner by the arm and drags him from the room.

Len takes the opportunity to see Officer Jeremy about a his 'special' piece of evidence.

-

Lisa calls Len after he finishes with his side mission. He takes a taxi to meet up with her at the bank and drives her home.

"Didn't Sicko have some sort of shindig with his family he invited you to?" Len asks as he pulls into the driveway. "There would be plenty of people there to make you feel safe."  
"I feel safer when I'm with you," Lisa confesses.  
"You want me to go to the party with you? I'd have to drop you off anyway."  
His sister giggles, "I don't think Cisco could handle another person insulting him."  
"Another?" Len repeats as they get out of the car. "Is there a sordid past I should know about, Lisa?"  
"None more so than your own," his sister returns with a stuck out tongue.  
"Maturity, thy name is thee."  
At the top of the steps, Len looks around with a frown.  
"I'm beginning to get that watched feeling," he comments, putting out an arm to stop his sister from entering the house. "I think we should go. Something's wrong."  
"What? What is it?" Lisa asks, scared as she tries to look around for something her brother sees.  
"Not here," Len says as he carefully pulls her back down the stairs.  
"We need to get to Barry and Joe to tell them about this, Lisa," Len tells her as they reach the bottom of the steps. "Barry can literally be there in moments for you. I can only go as fast as my car."  
"I know," Lisa frowns as she spins her phone around in her hand. "I'm just...You know how angry Joe got when I did it the first time. With everything he usually goes through...I didn't want to add another thing."  
"I appreciate that but you can't-"  
There's a strange noise and Len stops talking. Lisa's head immediately snaps up to see why and her heart stops as blood begins to spread out on her brother's shirt. She screams as Len's eyes widen and he crumples to the ground.

 

\---[Cliff Hanger, hanging from a cliff!]---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you see that one coming?


	2. Sins of the Sibling

Barry's phone rings and he answers it.  
"Lisa?"  
"BARRY-!" dial tone.  
Alarmed, Barry suits up and runs to every place his sister could be, starting with the bank she works at. When he stops outside Joe's house, there's no sign of Lisa but he finds Len lying on the front yard bleeding out. Barry picks his brother up and brings him straight to the hospital.

"HELP!" Barry shouts, startling everyone surrounding him, including the patients. "I've got a man bleeding to death! Please! Somebody! HELP ME!"  
Two male nurses bring over a bed for the bleeding man, while a female doctor runs over to her new patient.  
"What happened? What's his name?" the doctor asks, even as she starts to check over her patient.  
"His name is Leonard Snart. I think he's been shot, but I didn't see it."  
"Do you know if he has any allergies? Any medical conditions?"  
"Uh, no, not really. Not that I can remember. I can bring his foster father here to answer those question though?"  
"You do that," the doctor keeps her focus on her patient the entire time. "Okay, people, I need an O.R. prepped and 2 ccs of..."

The Flash runs from the room before the woman can finish her orders. He goes straight to Joe, uncaring of all the papers that go flying or the lights that flicker in his wake.  
"Barry?" the man's worry instantly spikes as he sees the expression on his boy's face. "What's wrong?"  
"Len's been shot."  
"Take me to him."  
Barry has Joe in the hospital just as the medical personal have Len wheeled further into the building.

\---

Captain Singh rushes into the hospital waiting room to find Joe leaning against a wall to keep himself upright.  
"How is he?" Singh asks as a greeting to the detective.  
"I don't know," Joe answers, valiantly hiding his internal anguish. "He's still in surgery."  
"Any idea what happened?" Eddie asks next. "Who might've done this?"  
"The Flash brought Len in after finding him bleeding in my front yard. As for who or why," Joe shakes his head, "I have no idea at all."  
"Don't worry, Joe," Singh pats the man on the shoulder. "Whoever did it, we'll catch them. The CCPD looks out for their own. Thawne and Allen are already on their way to the scene."  
"Thanks, David," Joe forces a grateful smile on his face. "But...There's more to it than just Len being shot."  
"What else?" the captain says warily.  
"Len has a sister and she's missing," the detective answers, keeping back tears.   
"She was probably the intended target then," Singh nods his head slowly. "Has Snart talked to you about his family in the past? Any problems his sister might be having?"  
"Lisa is a good egg," Joe says firmly, dissuading any assumptions in the contrary. "There is no reason for anyone to go after her."  
"I'm going to send over a protective detail for Snart," Singh says, pulling out his cell. "Keep me updated about his progress."  
"I will," Joe assures the man.  
Singh pauses in a half turn away, his mouth opening to add something.   
The man is saved from his failed attempt as the detective catches sight of his daughter rushing towards him.  
"Iris," the detective stares at his daughter. "How-?"  
"Eddie told me," Iris wraps her arms around her father in a tight hug, then look up with wet eyes. "How is he?"  
Singh walks away to give them privacy. Joe doesn't even notice as he tries not to break down in front of his daughter.

\---

Eddie and Barry come to the hospital from the crime scene.   
Iris goes straight to her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his neck as he hugs her around the back to steady her against him.  
"Did you find anything?" Joe asks with unhidden hope as he looks to the CSI.  
"I found Lisa's phone, but it was destroyed," Barry says.   
"What about the bullet?" the detective prompts.  
The CSI shakes his head. "It wasn't there. I did find some tire marks a block away that came form a vehicle that had take off quickly after being in a stand still position."  
"The getaway vehicle," Joe guesses.  
"That's what I thought," the CSI nods his head. He looks away to finish. "The only other thing there was...Le-Len's...blood."  
Joe pulls his foster son into his arms.   
"Len's going to pull through this," Joe says, as much for himself as for the young man in his arms returning his hug fiercely. "We'll get Lisa back from whoever took her and make sure they never see the light of day again."

 

The female doctor from earlier is directed to the group by a nurse and walks over to them with a grim expression.  
"Hello, my name is Lola Drake."  
Eddie turns with his girlfriend still in his arms. Barry and Joe separate to stare intently at the woman.  
"How is he?" Joe asks with a slight tremor to his voice.  
"The bullet went clean through," the doctor explains. "No organs were hit. There's only tissue damage. In all my years, I've never seen such a perfect wound. Mr. Snart is a very lucky man."  
"Can we see him?" Iris asks, blinking back tears.  
"He's unconscious-"  
"Doctor!" a nurse rushes into the room. "The patient! He's...He's awake!"  
"What?" Dr. Drake snaps, running back to the room. The family don't wait for an invitation to follow her.  
"Lisa!" Len is shouting, eyes closed tightly in pain as he tosses back in forth on the hospital bed, held down by a flustered male nurse.  
"What did you give him?" the doctor asks as she pushes the nurse away to get a closer to her patient.  
"Nothing!" the man assures her. "I was just finishing setting him up in the room and he started shouting!"  
"That's impossible!" Dr. Drake growls, trying to get a good grip on her patient. "Leonard! Stop struggling!"  
"Lisa!" Len shouts again, his movements becoming weaker as he starts to huff in desperate gulps of air. "Lisa...Lis...Li..."  
The man falls still, his heaving chest the only sign he was still alive. Iris muffles a sob as she buries her face into Eddie's shoulder.  
The doctor carefully checks her patient over, then goes to the machines and hanging bags before turning to the nurse.  
"I want another two ccs increase in his medications and a fresh set of bandages put on his wounds," she orders the man, then turns to the family with a deep frown. "Leonard appears to have a greater tolerance to medication than I was aware of. Please, can you step out of the room for a moment?"  
Dr. Drake guides the family out of the room and several steps down the hallway before Joe has to stop her to talk.  
"Is he going to be okay?" the detective asks, the last outburst still making his heart beat wildly inside his chest.  
"Like I said before, Leonard is a very lucky man," the doctor's eyes soften. "Once he's settled, two people will be allowed to stay with him at a time. But only family."  
"We're all family," Iris says definitively.  
"I'm sure you are," the doctor smiles. "If you'll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to."

After the woman has walked off, Joe looks meaningfully to Barry and the hero nods.  
"We're going to go look for Lisa," the detective turns to his daughter and his partner. "You two stay here and watch over Len. He could still be in danger."  
"Joe..." Eddie starts to argue, but then wisely clamps his mouth shut with a nod.

"Who do you think would try to kill him?" Iris asks, her voice hitching at the end.  
"I'm not sure if someone did, or if they wanted him out of the way," her father explains. "All I know is that I do not want him to be alone."  
"I'll direct the protective unit here now that Len has a room," Eddie states. "He won't be unguarded for even a second."  
"Thanks," Joe pats his partner on the shoulder, then hugs his daughter.   
"Get whoever did this, Daddy," the young woman whispers into her father's ear.  
"You can bet money that I will," he replies, pulling away.   
Joe and Barry leave the hospital and go straight to STAR Labs.

\---

Joe drives to the landmark building. Outside, a black SUV is waiting for them.  
The detective drawl his weapon as he gets out of his vehicle, expecting the worst.  
Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak step out of the SUV, the blonde smiling timidly at the speedster.  
"Hey, Barry," the tech genius raises a hand in a small wave.  
"Hey, Felicity," Barry tries to smile at the blonde, then turns to the archer. "Oliver, what-Aren't you supposed to be helping Diggle with his wedding?"  
"I'm not a wedding planner, Barry," Oliver points out. "Besides, I've got something more important to worry about."  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Queen," Joe steps forwards. "But I've got one kid in the hospital and another is missing. Whatever your problem is will have to wait."  
"It's not Lisa is it?" Felicity's timid smiles turns into a worried frown. "Either the hospitalized one or the missing one? It's not her, is it?"  
"Len's in the hospital with a gun shot wound," Barry tells his friends. "Lisa is missing. She called me but was cut off and I don't know where she is."  
"Yet," Joe quickly adds.  
"Detective West," Oliver addresses the older man. "It appears my problem and yours coalesce."  
"How do you mean?" the detective presses impatiently.  
"Lisa contacted me recently to warn me that she used the forbidden program," Felicity says in one breath.  
Joe curses as Barry's eyes widen.  
"I told that girl!" the detective wishes he had something to throw or punch. He looks to the speedster, "Did you know about this?"  
"No," Barry assures his foster father. "I had no idea. Why-Why would she do that? Doesn't she know what could happen to her? To you?" he motions to Felicity.  
"Barry, maybe we should take this somewhere more...private," Oliver looks around nervously as he moves to stand closer to the blonde woman.  
"Right, come on," Barry starts towards the laboratory entrance. "We need to get my other friends in on this as well. We'll need their help to track Lisa's kidnappers down."

 

Barry leads their visitors towards the cortex. When he catches sight of Caitlin, he calls out to the woman and she turns to him in surprise.  
"Barry?" Caitlin blinks away her surprise, only for it to startle back onto her face when Oliver and Felicity follow behind the hero and detective. "Oliver and Felicity? Hi! What are you doing here?"  
"Where's Cisco?" the speedster asks first.  
"On his way to a bar," the scientist grimaces. "His brother's party didn't go so well."  
"I'll go get him," Barry says, running out without another word.  
Wells rolls into the room, his eyebrows rising to the small crowd.  
"I was unaware of a gathering today," the man states, looking over the new faces. "Hello again."  
"Dr. Wells," the blonde woman nods to the man.  
"What brings you two to our modest little lab?" Wells asks as he relaxes into his chair.   
Barry arrives with Cisco before anyone can answer.  
"Lisa's gone and Len's been shot," the speedster says, catching everyone's attention.   
"What?" Cisco shouts first.  
"Is he okay? How did this happen?" Caitlin adds.   
"He's going to be okay," Joe says with short-lived relief before his anger flares to add. "But we don't know what happened,"   
"I think I do," Felicity says with a quiet voice. When all eyes turn to her, she clears her throat to speak up. "I created a program that could penetrate every database and search out whatever name you prompt it to."  
"That's impossible," Cisco comments as the other woman quiets.  
"It's difficult and tricky, but not impossible," Felicity blushes slightly as she brushes an invisible hair behind her ear. "The problem is, after it was used the first time, Lisa and I were arrested and one of the stipulations for our release was for us to never use it again."  
"You should have destroyed all traces of it," Oliver grumbles lowly from behind the woman.  
"I tried!" the blonde woman says with exasperation. "All of the important sources of information have already put up new walls. The program can only get into low level stuff now."  
Wells wheels his chair a little closer.   
"Is it correct for us to assume that your visit has to do with a communication from Miss Snart about her usage of this forbidden program?" he asks.  
Felicity nods, "She texted me, telling me she used it. I was worried about her and decided to come here and clear out all the evidence of it. When I called, she didn't answer, so we -Oliver and I- decided to meet up with Barry at STAR Labs."  
"I think it's safe to assume that someone is either after the program, it's creator, or the information that was initially gathered," Wells muses, looking at the others for their imput.  
"I don't care who they are or what they want," Cisco growls, getting into a chair to start working on his computer. "I'm going to personally see them put in prison for touching Lisa. And if she's hurt-" the genius huffs a strange laugh. "Len will be taking scare tactics from me."

\---

Lisa's phone didn't give Barry anything to work with and the tire tracks were average, everyday, anyone could buy them. The speedster had resorted to pacing the lab while Cisco checked security cameras and Felicity worked on his foster sister's laptop.   
Oliver quietly walks into the side room where the speedster was pacing. He crosses his arms over his chest as he leans in the door way to ask, "How is Snart?"   
"Iris hasn't texted anything bad since we left him at the hospital," Barry says, eyes briefly glancing to the archer before retuning forwards as he continues to pace. "The doctor says he's lucky. That the shot was clean. Perfect, if something like a gunshot wound can be."  
"A through and through with no damage to the organs or bones?" the archer clarifies, interest piqued. "Where was he shot? Was there curare in his blood stream?"  
"It was in the chest," the younger man stops in his track to stare at older one. "Curare? No, the doctor didn't mention that being in his system. Why? Does that fit an M.O. of someone you know?"  
"No," Oliver shakes his head. "Just...Surprised, and...Relieved. I'm glad you don't have to worry too much about him."  
"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me, Oliver?" Barry frowns at the man.  
"Got you!" Cisco shouts out, startling the two.  
Barry and Oliver enter the room with the genius as he fist bumps the air.  
"You can run but you can't hide," Cisco adds, clicking a few more keys to project a picture of a nondescript van running a red light.  
"What do you got?" Joe perks up at the young man's enthusiasm.  
"This van," Cisco points to the screen. "Is going roughly fifty miles an hour, ten over the speed limit, and based off the direction it's heading, and the time date from Lisa's call to Barry, it's probably our get-away vehicle."  
"I need more than a probably, Cisco," Joe says with a little strain to his voice.  
"No other vehicles are anywhere near as perfect for the job as that thing," the genius assures the detective. "I took the liberty of running the plate and got a name too: George Soulva."  
The detective lets out a curse as he rubs a hand over his face, then sighs.   
"I take it this man is either connected to, or is a member of, Central City's less honorable citizens?" Wells surmises.  
"He's a muscle man for the Santini crime family," Joe nods. "The mob. Of course it has to be the mob. This is going to get messy really quickly."  
"Why?" Barry asks. "If we know who took Lisa, I can just run in and get her."  
"Then what will stop the Santini's from going after her again later?" Oliver points out. "We need a plan."  
"Attempted murder and kidnapping would be enough to shy them away from trying anything again," Caitlin states.  
"Being in jail is a great deterrent from crime," Wells agrees.  
"Are we honestly going to sit around and wait for-what?-Justice to 'take it's course' or something like that?" Cisco asks, rising to his feet. "Lisa is in danger! Who knows what those gangster wanna-bes are doing to her right now!"  
"Cisco's right," Joe nods. "Even if we could come up with enough evidence, it would take too long. We've got to get Lisa away from the Santini's now, then we'll figure out a way to keep them away."  
"Like I said," Oliver says more forcefully. "We need a plan."   
The archer turns to Cisco, "Can you get aerial maps of their residence?"  
"Easy as pie."  
"Good. Now," the schools his expression as a plan begins to form in his head. "how about information on their businesses?"

\---

Lisa pulls her legs in closer to her chest as a fresh round of sobs start. She had tried to call Barry, just like Len had told her to, but it was too late.   
Far too late and all her fault.  
"Lenny..." she cries into her bound hands. Whoever grabbed her had dragged her, kicking and screaming, away from her brother, and tossed her into a van to bring her to who-knows-where. She had no idea if her brother was even still alive.  
Lisa gasps in a shaky breath as her open palms turn into shaking fists.   
She was going to kill them all. As soon as Joe or Barry got her out of this, she would take her brother's gun, find whoever shot her brother, and shoot them in the exact same spot.  
Whoever took her hadn't even made their demands yet. They weren't from the government, that much was obvious, but whoever it was thought that tossing her into a closet and leaving her alone to her own misery was the best way to get to her.  
They were wrong. Lisa had plenty of time being by herself. Being alone. Without her mother, without a real father, even without Lenny.   
Lisa wipes at her face and takes a deep breath, forcing herself to pull it together.  
She focuses on her fists as she imagines them morphing a new structure to the unknown faces of her captors. 

\---

Night falls with a moonless sky. The perfect cover for a rescue mission.  
"You ready?" The Flash says over the coms. as he stands outside the Santini estate alone.

Green Arrow watches his incoming target and draws back his bow. "Ready."

Felicity already has the cameras down as Barry runs the perimeter, knocking out the guards he finds roaming the grounds. In seconds the first task is complete and the speedster is inside the house, following the path of goons to lead him to the captive he's looking for. 

Oliver tracks the approaching semi truck with his weapon as it travels down the abandoned road at illegal speeds. He lets loose his arrow. It connects with the truck's front and explodes.

Barry smiles in a pre-victory when he finds a room with four padlocks on it. He has them opened in a blink, but slows to a normal pace to open it.

Oliver ignores the driver that makes a run from the flaming vehicle as he heads to the back door. He shoots the lock off, then opens the door enough to toss a smoke grenade inside.

Lisa shakes violently when the door to her room begins to open. She looks around wildly with the aid of the incoming light to find something to lash out at the incoming person. There's nothing but her in the room. Her legs are free, so she stands, bound hands coming together to make a human mallet as she readies herself to attack.

Oliver opens the semi's back door the rest of the way, dodging to the side in case any of the men inside were still conscious. No one shoots out and the archer leaps into the back to approach the downed men.

Barry swallows down his fear as he eases the door all the way open. A woman screams as a two-handed fist swings towards him. The speedster dodges with a small step back, catching the fist so the owner won't topple forwards.  
"Lisa!" the speedster hisses. "It's me! The Flash!"  
"Bu-Fl-You?" Lisa blinks away fear and tears as she looks up at her masked foster brother from her hunched over position. "You-You came? Fo-For me?"  
"Of course," Barry smiles. "What did you expect?"  
"You really are fast," the woman laughs with a touch of hysterics, stepping closer to the speedster to press her face into his chest. She bites back a sob as she forces out. "Lenny?"  
"He's alive," Barry assures Lisa. His foster sister sags further into his arms. "I'm going to bring you home. Are you ready?"  
"No one's going anywhere."  
The room is suddenly filled with light and Barry blinks as he turns to the source of the voice; his eyes almost instantly transition to the change.  
The Santini brothers, in perfect looking suits, look the two over ominously. A small group of armed men stand beside their bosses, a gun in each man's hand pointed to the hero and the woman in his arms.

Oliver finishes moving the last unconscious body to safety. He takes in a breath as he picks up his bow and aims another arrow at the opened back of the semi. He lets it go with an outward breath. Another explosion destroyed the container and all of its contents. The archer lifts his phone and takes a picture, making sure to send it before walking off...

"That young lady is a future employee of mine," Frank Santini states, pointing to Lisa.   
"I'll never help scum like you!" Lisa spits, standing tall even as she remains behind The Flash.  
"You don't even know what we have to offer you," Vincent Santini says with a toothy smile.  
"You shot my brother!" Lisa shouts. "I don't care if you offered me the world! I'd rather die than help you!"  
"That can be arranged," Frank shrugs. "Or...You can cooperate."  
"I have another offer," Barry speaks up, moving to stand completely in front of his foster sister. "How about you let us go, forget all about Lisa, and never bother her, or her family, ever again?"  
The criminal brothers let out a loud round of laughter as they look to each other.  
"Why would we do that?" Frank says in between another laugh.  
"Because if you don't I'm going to take your organization apart," the speedster smiles. "One money transport at a time."  
The brothers get an alert from their phones at the same time and they frown as they pull the devices out of their pockets to read the message.   
There's a picture of their truck that was supposed to bring a shipment of money to a safe house, utterly destroyed.   
"You did this?" Vincent growls, turning his phone to the speedster. "I'll kill you!"  
"I've already organized four more hits on your business that will happen simultaneously tonight if you don't drop do as I say," Barry says seriously, digging down to the darker parts of himself to make sure there was enough venom to his words. "If you could kill me, the hits will still happen. Mob boss, or not, you're nothing without your money. Not to mention what your opposition will think once they realize you've got someone out for you."  
The brothers scowl as they glance at each other.  
"What you want no longer exists," Barry adds, body tense and still ready to speed him and Lisa out of there in a moment's notice. "You walk away now, you lose nothing else. You push your luck, you lose everything."  
Frank lets out a string of curses as he wraps a hand around his mouth and takes a step away. Vincent nods his head slowly, pocketing his device that had slowly lowered to his side.  
"She's free to go," Vincent says with a glare to the hero. "But...If you should try to interfere with out business again," he grins at the hero, trying to put up a final face of intimidation. "We know who to go to first. Got it?"  
"If you stay away, then we won't have a problem," the hero nods. In a blast of electricity, Lisa and the speedster are gone.

\---

The Flash stops in middle of the cortex in STAR Labs where Cisco, Caitlin, Wells, Felicity, and Joe were waiting. The speedster gently puts his foster sister down and makes quick work of her bindings.  
Joe, who was closest, runs to his foster daughter and wraps her up in a tight hug.  
Barry removes his cowl as he smiles at his family.   
Wells wheels himself out of the room as Cisco and Caitlin walk around the computer desk to approach the rescued woman, Felicity watching with tear filled eyes.  
"Cisco!" Lisa pulls back from Joe with a sob to wrap her arms around her boyfriend.  
"It's alright, mi amor," Cisco says gently as he strokes the woman's hair with one hand, the other one holding her firmly to himself at the small of her back.  
Iris rubs at her foster sister's shoulder as tears drip over her face even as she smiles.  
Lisa rests her forehead on her boyfriend's shoulder and slowly starts to weep louder. Cisco holds tight, a pillar of strength, as the woman he loves falls apart.   
Joe's anger burns hot in his chest as he watches one of his girls shake. He walks over to Barry and pulls him to the side.  
"Did it work?" the detective asks in quiet voice.  
"Yes," the speedster assures him with a nod. "The Santini's got the message, loud and clear."  
"If they didn't..." Joe looks away as he nearly lets his anger out. He looks over to Lisa in Cisco's arms. The young woman has calmed down more now, her face turned to the side to nestle by her boyfriend's face instead of trying to hide by it.  
"We'll keep Lisa safe from now on," Barry says with finality. "And I'm going to make sure Felicity gets rid of that program, once and for all."

\---

Oliver, now out of his suit, enters the Cortex where Cisco has Lisa sitting in his chair, drinking a red slushy provided by Barry.  
The archer smiles at the young woman when she looks up at him.  
"I'm glad to see you're okay," Oliver tells her.  
"I'm sorry for causing all of this," Lisa whispers back weakly.  
"What, exactly, is 'all this'?" Caitlin asks tentatively as the archer moves to stand beside Felicity. She raises her hands and quickly adds, "Unless that's too difficult a subject to talk about?"  
Lisa lowers her head, face as red as her drink.  
Joe understands his foster daughter's reluctance and decides to give the simple version of what happed in the past.

During a rough patch of her transition into the West-Allen Family fold, Lisa ran away and hunted down a hacker to find her brother. The hacker, a still free-spirited Felicity, had to go all the way to the Pentagon to get the information they needed. It sent up red flags everywhere and the girls were arrested by the secret service. It took the combined efforts of everyone, and a conveniently successful mission from Len, to get the girls a pardon. With the stipulation, of course, that they would not use the program again, nor would they even mention what they learned...

 

"So, wait," Caitlin speaks up again after the detective finishes. "Does that mean the government will come banging on Lisa and Felicity's doors, ready to arrest them?"  
"Not if I can help it," Oliver answers first, a hand rising to rest on the blonde woman's shoulder. "If they try, I'll hire every lawyer available."  
"I love it when you get all protective," Felicity murmurs with a smile up at the archer.  
Oliver clears his throat as he looks away.

Joe's phone goes off and he pulls it out to answer it.  
"Hello?"  
After a beat of silence, the detective's face brightens as he looks over the curious faces of the others in the room.  
"We'll be right there!" he says excitedly, hanging up. He smiles as he informs the others, "Len's awake!"

\---

"Let me get this straight," Len drawls tiredly. "Queen got Barry to go all 'mafia' on some bad guys and then you all stood around while Cisco hugged Lisa for longer than he's allowed?"  
"Way to cut out all of our hard work and make it seem like we did nothing after all," Cisco scolds the man in the hospital bed.

Joe had to use his police badge during the graveyard shift to get everyone into the hospital room at once. Eddie and Officer Jeremy stand guard outside the closed room door as Felicity, Oliver, Caitlin, Cisco, Lisa, Iris, Barry, and Joe talk with Len inside.  
"I guess having a billionaire on your friends list is handy," Len adds, ignoring the man to look at the archer. "Even if he is a little bit of a grouch."  
"Did you say something, Pot?"  
"Shut up, Cisco."  
The room falls silent as the foster family stares at Len in shock.  
"Woah... Did he just use his real name?" Barry asks, unsure if he heard the man correctly.  
"He did!" Iris's shock is replaced with a beaming smile. "He totally did! I heard it!"  
"I think he's finally starting to come around," Lisa smiles, pulling her boyfriend closer to kiss him on the cheek.  
"This is why I can never change," Len levels them all with a glare. "When I do, you people can't handle it. Maybe I should rent out an island and just secretly keep you all imprisoned there."  
"That's oddly specific," Oliver remarks as he looks to the man curiously.  
"Is it?" Len raises an eyebrow. "Why would you say that?"  
"O-K!" Felicity claps her hands. "I think we've had enough bonding for one day. Why don't we all go back home and into each other's beds? I mean-" she blushes as she instantly corrects. "Each person goes into the bed that is theirs."  
"Agreed," Len grips the blankets covering him but Joe puts a hand over his foster son's, stopping him with a hard glare.  
"You are staying here until the DOCTORS," the detective emphasizes the noun. "Say you're fit to leave."  
"I feel fine, Joe."  
"That's a load of bull and you know it."  
"It's not like I have any criminals to chase after. You guys took care of that for me."  
"This is not a debate," Joe states, pulling out his hand cuffs. He cuffs once half to Len's wrist that isn't connected to tubes and the other to the rail of the bed.  
Felicity gasps, her hands flying up to cover her mouth, as Oliver raises an eyebrow and the foster siblings gape at Joe in shock.  
Len look at the cuffs, looks up at his foster father, then sighs as he looks straight ahead and leans back into his bed, the cuff clanging with his defeated posture.

"That's..." Oliver stops himself from finishing then looks down at Felicity. "I think we should go."  
"Yeah," the blonde woman readily agrees, walking with the archer to the door.  
"Are you guys sure you can't stay a little while?" Barry asks. "At least spend the night? You can head back to Starling in the morning."  
Felicity looks to her watch and frowns, "The last train would have left by now."  
"Fine," Oliver caves easily. He turns to the speedster, "But if you're late to meet us in the morning, we won't wait for you."  
"Guess you're leaving without him then," Len smirks as Barry rolls his eyes.

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note to Readers:  
> Golly!!! This took over three re-writes to get somewhere doable! I had the IDEA, but the HOW-TO get there was slow going....Trying to remember what people should know (because, as the writer, I know everything) and trying to figure out their reactions...Just...GRR!!! + It was important (to me) for Singh not to figure out Joe's connection to Len & Lisa. That has already been written for a piece several additions down the road...


	3. A Surprising Chapter

Hours later, Len is lightly dozing in his hospital bed. Joe is home with Lisa and Barry. Iris is fast asleep in a cot not far from her foster brother's side while Eddie and Officer Jeremy keep vigilant outside the trainee's hospital room.

The outer window is eased open silently and a man slides in without a sound.   
Len's eyes dart open to slide over to the figure and he smirks.  
"Have something else to get off your chest, Oliver?" he says, keeping his voice low.  
The archer steps closer, eyes moving from the sleeping form in the cot to look over the man in the hospital bed.  
"You want me to take those off?" Oliver motions to the hand cuffs, his voice matching the level of the other man.  
"It's fine," Len shakes his head. "Joe didn't even put them on tight. I could get out of them if I really wanted to."  
"Detective West has some very questionable parenting techniques."  
"The man's a saint," Len counters with a hard tone. "Now," he tilts his head to the other man. "What has you creeping into my room like an obsessed fan?"  
Oliver reaches into his coat and pulls out a small envelope.  
"Laurel wanted me to give you this," he says, stepping close enough to hand the object over to the other man. "I didn't know you two had met before."  
"We haven't," Len says absently, opening the envelope to get to the paper inside. "But I saw a photo of her once. She's seems...like...a lovely..."  
Len's eyes dart over the contents of the letter several times, his face going from curious to open shock and ending in a blank expression before refolding the paper and shoving it back into the envelope.  
"Bad news?" Oliver finds himself asking. His need to know had grown as he carried the envelope around. The small rectangle felt like a burn where it had rested in his pocket. The temptation to open it was only overridden by Laurel's heart-felt plea that he wouldn't. His old lover had forced him to swear not to open it, so he hadn't.  
Len's throat works as he stares at the back of the opened envelope.  
"Nothing you don't already know," he whispers.  
"Listen, Snart," Oliver takes a shuffled step closer. "About what you said to me...A few weeks ago...About Felicity...I just..." he sighs in order to hide his growl of frustration. Talking about how he felt was -ridiculously- the hardest thing for him to do. "I think I'm finally ready to take your advice."  
Len turns glistening eyes to the other man.  
"It's about time," he smiles. "She would've ended up with that bright-eyed nerd otherwise."  
"Palmer?"  
"Is that his name? I didn't care to learn it."  
Oliver huffs a quiet laugh, then looks towards Iris to make sure she was still fast asleep. The reporter's eyes remain closed, her even breaths the only movement.  
"I better go," the archer says, heading back to the window.  
"You know, you could've just walked through the door. Like everyone else."  
"I wanted this to be more...Private," Oliver pauses at the window, one foot already resting in preparation of his departure. "Take care of yourself, Snart."  
"You too, Queen," Len returns with a friendly tone. "Take care of that girl of yours."  
Oliver grins, the shadows making his teeth stick out like the Cheshire cat.  
"I will."

The archer goes out the same way he came in, even taking the time to re-close the window before disappearing.  
Len heaves a heavy sigh, then winces when it aggravates his wound. He looks down at the envelope and starts to tear it.  
"What did you tell Oliver about Felicity?" a quiet voice asks as Len pulls two pieces together to make four.  
"I thought you were sleeping," Len answers as he tears.  
"No you didn't," Iris's voice replies as Len puts the papers together again and turns them for the next tear.  
"Maybe," he smirks, struggling for a second, then managing the next tear with a small grunt.  
Iris gets up from the cot, wrapping the blanket from it around her shoulders as she steps over to her foster brother's bed to sit on the edge of it.  
"What did you tell Oliver?" Iris repeats the question softly.  
With a sigh, Len restacks the papers. He looks into his foster sister's eyes, his own misting her face in his vision.  
"I told him...No one has to be alone," Len swallows the lump trying to form in his throat. "I told him...People who choose to be alone...Do the people they love more harm than good...That," he runs a hand over his face to hide the tears before continuing. "I said that loving someone as best you can now...Is better than pushing them away...That breaking a human heart hurt more....Than any other pain in the world."  
Len looks down when he can't stop the stream of tears that start to fall from his eyes.  
"Because..." his voice rasps. "When they're gone...All you'll have is regret..."  
Iris drops the blanket to free her arms and wrap them around her foster brother's shoulders. Len shakes in her grip and her frown deepens as she holds onto him tighter.  
Eddie peeks his head in, his mouth open in preparation to speak but Iris jerks a hand at him to stay silent. The blonde detective clamps his mouth shut as he nods his head in understanding and pulls back out of the room, closing the door again quietly.  
Iris wraps her second arm back around her brother as he continues to cry. One of his hands covers his eyes in an attempt to hide. The younger sibling changes positions again to get closer to her brother and pull him completely into her arms.  
Len gives up trying to hide and turns his face into his sister's shoulder, the hand covering his face falling limp in his lap while the cuffed one sits behind her back in a mock gesture of a returned hug.  
Iris remains silent as she supports her brother, her body rocking slightly back and forth subconsciously.

 

When a nurse comes in to check on the patient, she finds Iris holding onto an unconscious Len. The reporter smiles at the nurse and motions for her to come in.  
The nurse helps untangle Iris from Len, easing the man into the most comfortable position before checking him over.  
"He's going to be just fine," the nurse tells the other woman with a small smile before quietly leaving the room.   
Iris looks over to her brother's sleeping form, her hands full of the torn papers he held earlier. The reporter in her is desperate to put the pieces together and know what secrets they contain. The little sister in her is adamant to do it.  
But the mature adult in her has her putting the papers in her purse for disposal later.   
Len deserved his privacy. 

\---

The next morning, Barry manages to make it to Jitters for breakfast with Felicity and Oliver before they leave.

"How's Len doing?" Felicity asks after giving her friend a greeting hug. "Has he done a Houdini yet? Lisa told me he used to sneak out all the time when he was still...You know."  
"Joe checked on him this morning and he was still there," Barry assures the woman. "Len is tough, but he knows when it's best to take it easy."  
"Knowing and doing aren't the same thing," the blonde woman laughs, purposely glancing over to Oliver.  
"Not for long," the archer grins at her, confusing the two others in his company.  
"Strange double meaning aside," Felicity turns her attention to the menu behind the counter. "What's good to have here?"  
"Oh, I've got it," Barry smiles, heading to the back of the line.   
"Wait, are you sure?" Felicity tries to stop her friend, but the brunette waves at her as he makes it to his spot. It's near the door but Barry is smiling as he patiently waits, pulling out his phone to check on a few things.  
"I hope he gets me something with chocolate on it," Felicity remarks, turning to Oliver. "I need a serious sugar rush with my caffeine today."  
"I think you're sweet enough," Oliver grins.  
"What?" the blonde pulls her head back as she looks up in surprise at the man standing in front of her. "Are you some sort of alien clone? Because the Oliver I know would never say that sort of thing to me. He would say something more like-"  
"I was wrong, Felicity," the archer interrupts her, taking one of her hands in his. "Being in constant danger should have brought me to this sooner, but I was being...Stubborn. I was trying to...to protect you. No, that's not all of it," he shakes his head, glancing over to Barry to make sure the brunette was still far enough away not to hear him ramble. He locks eyes with Felicity again as he forces out. "I was afraid of myself. Of what I had become. I didn't think...Didn't think I deserved to have love. To have...you."  
Felicity ignores the world around her as she gets lost in the archer's unsure eyes. Oliver was rarely unsure of himself. It was difficult for the man to show how he felt. Felicity was touched and felt extremely honored to see him as anything but the stern vigilante or fake playboy. She wishes she could stop time to catalog Oliver's face into her memory forever, but a stronger part of her wanted to wipe away the unsure look and change it to one of hope and love.  
'Love.' Felicity feels her cheeks heat up as she remembers Oliver saying the word. She turns their hands to intertwine their fingers.  
"Oliver," she says, all her attention on the man she loved deep in her heart. "Whatever your planning on doing, I'm going to need you to tell me so I can agree to it."  
Oliver huffs a laugh as he leans a little closer to the blonde.   
"Felicity Smoak," he murmurs. "Will you do me the honor, of becoming my girlfriend?"  
"Absolutely," Felicity grins. "Though, I have to say, not even you can make the word 'girlfriend' sound alluring."  
"I thought it sounded very alluring," Oliver pretends to be offended.  
"It did not," the blonde assures him with a small laugh.  
"Two espressos, one double with light cream, the other triple with sugar; one black coffee; three muffins, two chocolate, one blueberry; and an egg sandwich," Barry finishes putting down the drinks and food with a small flourish before looking to the couple. He frowns at Felicity's red face and Oliver's slightly bleak expression. "What? Did I get the wrong thing?"  
Felicity breaks into giggles and Oliver grins down at the blonde.  
"What?" Barry repeats, confused. It only serves to increase his friend's giggles.

 

After breakfast and good-bye hugs, Oliver guides Felicity out of Jitters with a hand at the small of her back.  
"Do you really think I know more than I do?" Oliver asks off-handedly as he loops the blonde woman's arm through his.  
"Well," Felicity draws out the word. "You usually have, like, a hundred things going on in your head at a time. I can't imagine you acting on most of them."  
The archer starts down the street and leans in close.  
"I plan on having a lot of 'doing' when we get back home," Oliver whispers into Felicity's ear.  
The blonde's cheeks turn bright red as she huddles closer to the archer.

 

\---

Barry cleans up and is about to leave the coffee shop when he sees a news bulletin stating that Mason Bridge was missing.  
The speedster stares at the screen for the remainder of the bulletin as his mind flashes back to the man talking to him about his 'secret file' that proved Wells was a killer.  
The channel switches to another story and Barry quickly leaves the café.

Barry stares outside his lab window at the CCPD as he tries to wrap his mind around the dark fear creeping into his mind.  
When Joe arrives, asking him why he texted to come, Barry doesn't even hesitate to tell him the truth.  
"I think you were right about Harrison Wells."

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's Note to Readers:  
> No, I don't know where that Flirty Oliver came from either. I know it's Out Of Character. It was just SOOO cute! (So I left it.)  
> The mysterious piece of cloth from the first chapter will have to be revealed in the next piece, because this one is done.  
> This Chapter (as its name suggests) came out of nowhere and wrote itself. Only the first Chapter of this story followed the original outline that I wrote.   
> Now, I'm rambling...Hope you enjoyed reading the story! !_!

**Author's Note:**

> ***I own nothing.*** {Neither shows. NO Characters. Nada! Zip Zilch!}


End file.
